Rise in theft and related offences in Louth
Recorded Crime Q3 2023
There was a rise in Theft & Related offences in the Louth Garda Division in each of the first three quarters of this year according to figures released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
In its release, Recorded Crime Q3 2023, the CSO figures show that 556 Theft & Related offences were recorded in the Louth Garda Division in the third quarter (Q3) of this year.
It is up from 540 in Q2, 487 in Q1 and 419 in the final quarter of 2022. Compared to the same period in 2022, it represents an increase of 62 or 12.6% on Q3 of last year.
The biggest increase in the Louth Garda Division in relation to theft offences was in Taking of Vehicle and Related Offences. 75 incidents were recorded in Louth in Q3 of this year, up from 63 in Q2 and 64 in Q1. Compared to Q3 of last year, it represents a 226% increase on the 23 incidents recorded in Q3 2022.
Theft from a Shop was the most common type of theft offence recorded in the Louth Garda Division. 257 incidents were recorded in Q3 of this year, down from the 289 incidents recorded in the second quarter of this year, but up slightly on the 252 incidents recorded in the same quarter of last year.
Theft and related offences are on the increase across the State, according to the latest figures. Crime incidents involving Theft & Related offences were up by 16% or 9,904 to 72,340 incidents in the year to Q3 2023. About four in every ten (42%) of the increase in the number of incidents was Theft from Shops.
The CSO has advised that following the publication of the fifth Review of the Quality of Crime Statistics in October 2023, the CSO has lifted the 'Under Reservation' categorisation around Recorded Crime Statistics.
This is possible it says because An Garda Síochána has introduced a range of quality measures over the last number of years which have resulted in sustained improvement in the quality of the underlying crime data. These changes give a level of assurance to users, the CSO says, that they can rely on Recorded Crime Statistics.